Nathan Perkel: A Day in the Life of Driver Kingsley Obi

Photographer and Bay Area native Nathan Perkel is best known for his portraits, with subjects ranging from Allen Iverson, to athletes in training for Nike ad campaigns. His next subject? NYC based Lyft driver Kingsley Obi.

We wanted to take a peek at a day in the life of a Lyft driver; what they see, who they meet, what they do when they aren’t driving. Nathan tagged along with Kingsley for a full day as he went about his usual routine, and we then posted a few of our favorite photos on Instagram to tell Kingsley’s story.

Meet Kingsley. Kingsley was born and raised in Nigeria and immigrated to the United States seven years ago. He started driving with Lyft in January 2015 so he could make money, continue studying Computer Engineering at The City College of New York, and work on his startup, Kömb.

“A typical day in my life? Well, it’s different every week. Depending on what time I have class, I’ll either work on my app or go to school. This semester was very hectic, I was working on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Whenever I have time. Driving is like a way for me to get over a stressful day.”

“When I’m not driving, I’m mostly working on my startup or honing my web dev skills. My co-founders and I were part of an incubator program at The City College Zahn Innovation Center. I’m actually in the process of preparing for a final pitch to figure out if we are getting funding.”

“Once I’m done with classes, when it’s fully summer, I go to Pier 40 and play pickup games. I’ve been playing soccer since I was in high school. It’s what I grew up watching in Nigeria, and I honestly think it’s the best sport in the world.”

Here are a few more of our favorite photos from Kingsley’s shoot with Nathan: